Potato-chip-frying machine



June 19, 1928.

L. B. LEONE ET AL POTATO CHIP FRYING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet avwe ufowflffomwun A Filed March 23, 1926 c m III II-Il II |.|l

June 19, 1928; 1,674,555

L.B.LEONE ETAL POTATO cHiP FRYING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1926 aSheets-Sheet 2 "mum-c1157 11.13. Lcanc and anvautow June 19, 1928.1,674,555

L. B. LEONE ET AL POTATO CHIP FRYING' MACHINE File March 23, 1926 5SheEts-Sheet 5 I 1 l l I I I I l l l 1 I I L.B.L60nc t lild PatentedJune 19, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LO'U'IS B. LEONE AND WILLIAM T. MURPHY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

POTATO-CHIP-FRYING MACHINE.

This invention aims to provide a machine in which potato chips can befried in a continuous process, novel means being provided for handlingthe chips.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utility of devices of that type to which the inventionappertains.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that i5 changes in theprecise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made withinthe scope of What is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation wherein parts have been broken away;

Figure 2 is a top plan;

Figure 3 is an elevation showing the movable carrying frame Figure 4 isa section on the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 55 of Figure 1.

The machine includes a support, which comprises a box-like casing 1sustained by an internal reinforcing frame 2 which sup-.

ports an oil pan 3,

vertical extensions 4. The pan 3 is heated 'by burners 5 in a pipe 6carried by cross bars 7 supported within the casing 1, the fuel-whichtraverses the pipe 6 being under the governance of a valve '8. The oiland other material in the pan 3 may be drained out of the pan through apipe 9 provided with a valve 10. 4

The machine embodies a removable carrying frame, the frame being calleda carrying frame, because numerous movable parts of the machine aremounted on it. The carrying frame includes two parallel'side members,one of which is shown in outline in Figure 3. Each side member includesa 7 lower track 11 and'an upper track 12, the

. track 12 having'an upwardly inclined portion 14 and a downwardly andrearwardly inclined portion 15. The tracks 11 and 12 of each side memberare held in fixed relationto each other, and the two side members areheld in-fixed relation to each other, be cause the parts specified aremounted on and ure 3 is noted. An end shaft 20 is jourthe sides of whichhave interior of the casing 1 generally, and motor 38 in particular, bymeans of doors 39 ll.

secured to U-shaped hangers 16 having hooks 17 at their upper ends,adapted to engage over the upper edges of the sides of the oil pan 3.Angular guides 18 are secured to certain of the hangers 16. Curvedguides 19 are secured to the upper track members 12 at the places wherethe track elements 15 are joined to' the parts 12, an observation whichwill be understood readily when Fignaled in the track members 12. An endshaft 21 is journaled in the track members 12. The shaft 20 carries anidler 22. There is an idler23 on the shaft 21. A shaft 25 is journaledin the angle defined by the parts 14 and 15 of the side members of thecarrying frame. A sprocket 24 is secured to the shaft 25. A conveyor 26,in the form of a link belt, or otherwise, is engaged around the idlers22 and 23 and around the sprocket 24. The conveyor 26 has side rollers27. The rollers 27 traverse the track elements 111'2-'1415, and passbeneath the guides 18 and 19. The conveyor 26 is provided with anysuitable means for advancing and carrying the 'potato chips, forinstance,.with transverse ribs 28 provided with perfora? tions 29.Curved deflectors 30 and 31 aid in the movement of the potato chips atthe ends of the oil pan 3. i

The peeled potatoes are cast into aislicer 32 mounted at one end of theoil pan 3. The slicer 32 is not described in detail, because we areaware of the fact that no specific form of slicer can be claimed in thisapplication, and, further, because the slicer mag be of anydesiredconstruction. Let it su ce to say that the slicer 32 includes ashaft 33. In front of the lower end of the slicer 32 is disposed areceptacle 34 for the fried or cooked potato chips. The :receptacle 34has a foraminous bottom 35. The

- receptacle 34 is carried by hangers 36 of U- the hangers beingsupplied at their upper ends with hooks 37 which engage the upper edgesof the sides of the oil pan, 3. The receptacle 34 is so located withrespect to the sprocket 24 that when the conveyor runs over the sprocket24, the potato chips on the conyeyor will be dumped into the receptacle34. i

A motor 38 of any desired form is located within the casing 1. Access ishad to tple to t e shape,

hinged to the casing 1. The motor .38 op crates a belt 40 engaged with apulley 41 on a shaft 42 journaled in depending bearings 43 carried bythe reinforcing frame 2. On the outer end of the shaft 42 there arepulleys 44 and 45. A belt 46 is engaged with a pulley 44, and a-belt 47is engaged with the pulley 45. The belt 46 passes upwardly around apulley 48 onthe shaft 25. The belt 47 is engaged around a pulley 49 onthe shaft 33 of the potato slicer.

In practical operation, a quantity of oil is placed in the oil pan 3,the -oil standing at the level indicated at 50 in Figure 1. The oil inthe oil pan 3 is heated by the burners 5. The potatoes are placed in theslicer 32 and are cut up. The slices of potatoes pass downwardly uponthe deflector 30, or upon the conveyor 26, and the perforated ribs 28 onthe conveyor advance the potato chips along the bottom ofthe oil pan 3.The potato chips are carried upwardly at the left and end of the machinein Figure 1, upon the upper run of the conveyor, the curved deflector-31facilitating the passage of the chips upon the upper run of theconveyor.

.As the potato chips start up the incline represented by the inclinedportions 14 of the side members of the carrying frames, they arewithdrawn from the heated oil, and by this time, the potato chips arecooked or fried properly. As the conveyor 26 traverses the sprocket 24,the potato chips on the conveyor are discharged downwardly into thereceptacle 34, and the oil upon the potato chips can run back into theoil pan 3 through the foraminous bottom 35 of the receptacle 34.

Because the receptacle 34 is carried by the hangers 36, the receptaclecan be lifted out readily, Moreover, the conveyor 26 and attendant partsmay be removed readily, because they are assembled with the side members of the detachable frame shown in Fig ure 3, the said frame beingmounted upon and carried by the hangers 16 which, in their turn, aredetachably engaged in the sides of the oil pan 3. The construction issuch that all parts of the device may be lifted out of the oil pan uponoccasion, so that the oil pan,

as Well as the removable parts, can be cleaned thoroughly.

The motor 38 drives the belt 40, and the belt 40 rotates the shaft 42 byway of the pulley 41. The pulley 44 and the belt 46, to-

gether with the pulley 48, rotate the shaft 25,

and the sprocket 24, motion thus being imparted to the conveyor 26. Fromthe shaft 42, the shaft 33 of the slicer 32 is operated through a trainof elements including the pulley 45, the belt 47 and the pulley 49.

W'hat-is claimed is z- In a machine for frying potato chips, a pan,means for feeding chips to one end of the pan, side members eachincluding an upper track and a lower track, hangers connected to thetracks of each side member to hold the tracks of each side member spacedvertically, the hangers extending between the side members to hold themspaced horizontally, the hangers having means for engaging the pan tosupport the side members removahly in the pan, a drainage receptaclehaving a foraminous bottom, means for supporting the receptacle directlyabove the pan, whereby the liquid which drains out of the reeep' taclecan flow directly downward,.vertically through the foraminous bottom ofthe receptacle into the pan, a conveyor movable around the upper trackand between the upper and lower tracks, the vertical spacing of thetracks affording room for the reception of the conveyor between them,the conveyor extending between the side members, the upper tracksincluding parts which are inclined and traversed by the conveyor, theconveyor receiving the chips from the chip-feeding means and moving thechips first along the bottom of the pan and then reversely through theliquid in the pan, said parts being so located as to cause the conveyornext to raise the chips out'of the pan and finally deposit them in thereceptacle.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing LOUIS B. LEONE. WILLIAM T.MURPHY.

